Summer Storms
by VeigarSenpai
Summary: Sandy Eurus leads an average team of hunters-in-training during the events of RWBY. There will be little to no interaction with most of the show characters.
1. Prologue

Prologue: Sandy Makes a Friend by Sneezing

"We will be arriving at Beacon Academy soon," said a female voice over the intercom. "Please get ready to disembark." Sandy perked up and stepped toward the window, next to a guy who was sleeping in his seat with a spear nestled in the crook of his arm. She had to focus to see past her own reflection in the glass; her black hair was tied back in a short ponytail and her blue eyes looked eagerly forward. After a moment, she saw it. She'd seen pictures, but the sight of the school still took her breath away. Everyone else on the airship was carrying a weapon as well, and Sandy rested a hand on the hilt of her sword. Boarding this ship was her way of kissing good-bye to any hope of a normal life. _Come on, Sandy,_ she thought, _This is so cliché. No point in getting scared now. Just take things one at a time._

Just as she was contemplating what had taken her to this point and what she was going to do next, she sneezed. "Bless you." said a deep voice. She turned around to see she had woken up the boy with the spear. He ran a hand through his dark brown hair and stretched.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Sandy apologized, but he only grinned. "Don't worry about it. Looks like you woke me up at the right moment anyway, so congrats on your well-timed sneeze. Name's Richard, by the way." He held out his hand.

"I'm Sandy." She shook his hand; his grip was surprisingly strong. "Glad I could be your alarm clock today."

Richard chuckled. "Well, if meeting people is as easy as sneezing, I shouldn't have anything to worry about. But in the meantime, it looks like we're landing. Let's see what we're going to be dealing with."

As they stepped off the ship, the tower seemed even bigger up close. "Pretty impressive," said Richard. "Not to mention everyone's armed to the teeth. I think I'm gonna like this place."

Sandy looked around at the other recruits. "Everyone seems to have weapons that turn into guns. Is that the new craze, or what?" She took out her katana and one of her pistols. "I just always felt better covering multiple bases with Dust, although Razor Gale's hilt can only load one kind at a time."

Richard nodded and hefted his spear. "I hear ya. I don't pack guns either; Boltstriker's shaft is loaded with Dust so it can launch explosive blasts."

Sandy whistled. "That sounds fun. Oh, we'd better hurry, everyone else is getting into the entrance hall."

As Sandy stepped into the building, she marveled at the size of the foyer. "Wow, this room is huge! What could they possibly use this place for other than orientation?" She looked around, but Richard seemed to have vanished to who knows where. "All right," she muttered to herself. "Guess losing friends is as easy as making them."

She didn't wait long before Richard appeared again. "Sorry," he said, "Got separated. But I heard something kinda funny: apparently someone sneezed some Dust in the courtyard and exploded. Nobody's hurt, though."

"What is it with today and sneezing?" Sandy wondered. Richard started to speak, "I don't know, but- " before he was cut off by a sharp yell of "YOU!"

They looked toward the source of the noise: an angry-looking girl in white was confronting a short, dark-haired girl who leapt into the arms of a nearby blonde with a squeal of "Oh God it's happening again!"

"Let's keep out of this." said Richard. Sandy agreed. Moments later speaker feedback echoed through the room; a tall, white-haired man in a dark green suit was standing at a microphone on a raised platform. Sandy recognized him: the headmaster of Beacon, Professor Ozpin. "I'll keep this brief." he said.

"You have travelled here today in search of knowledge. To hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction." There was no hint of emotion in his voice. "You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."

"He's pleasant." Richard muttered. Ozpin stepped off, and Professor Goodwitch took the mic. "You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Your initiation begins tomorrow. Be ready. Dismissed."

Sandy sprawled out across her sleeping bag. Other students were talking excitedly all around her, and others were wrestling each other. A blonde boy in blue footy pajamas walked past, checking out several girls. Looking over to her left, she could see that Richard had already fallen asleep some fifteen feet away. She decided to follow his example; it was a big day tomorrow. As she pulled her sleeping bag over herself, she wondered how she was going to sleep at all with everything that had happened that day still buzzing through her head before passing out almost instantly.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 2: Sunny with a Chance of Gruesome Death

A bell rang throughout the ballroom, waking Sandy with a small yelp. She shook her head and stood up as Glynda's voice came on over the intercom. "All new recruits must prepare for initiation. Check your scrolls to see which group you were assigned to. Group one will meet Professor Ozpin at the cliff facing Emerald Forest. Group Two will meet Doctor Oobleck at the cliff facing the northern woods, and Group Three will meet Professor Port at the western fields. Be sure to report to your assigned professor at 11:00. Good luck."

Sandy checked her scroll; she was in Group 2. Nearby, Richard got up with a groan. "Really need to work on getting up early." His green eyes were slightly bloodshot as he looked at his scroll. "Group two. Where was that again?"

After everyone had showered, eaten and gotten their weapons and armor ready, they set off to the north end of campus. The cool, moist morning air helped calm Sandy's nerves as she wondered what type of "initiation" was being planned here. When they got to the cliff, there were several launchpads lined up at the edge. A tall, spindly man with green hair and spectacles stood beside them, holding a mug. "Good morning, ladies and gentlemen!" His speech was almost too fast to understand. "I'm Doctor Oobleck. Let's get right down to business. Is there anyone here who is NOT in group two?"

He waited a good two seconds for anyone to raise their hand. "Splendid!" He took a sip from his mug. "If you would all pick a launchpad, I'll give you the details."

The initiates surged forward and everyone stood on a pad. Sandy widened her stance and bent her knees. Oobleck spoke up again. "Momentarily you will be launched into the forest, starting with those closest to me. Keep in mind that you must devise your own landing strategy. When you land, the first person you make eye contact with will be your partner for the rest of your time at Beacon. Your mission is to reach the structure in the heart of the forest, where several relics are waiting. Also remember that the forest is filled with the creatures of Grimm. Fight your way through, collect a relic, and bring it back here before the day is up. Any questions?"

Sandy ran through the speech again in her head. Halfway through Oobleck took another sip and pulled out his Scroll. "Excellent! Let's begin, and good luck!" He pressed a button and the boy next to him was immediately thrown off the cliff.

Richard was next. Sandy heard him sarcastically yelling "Wheeeee" as he flew. Three more launched initiates later, Sandy was thrown from her spot and sailing through the air toward the forest. She loved the feeling of flying; the wind blowing into her face and the sensation of weightlessness. Once she was getting closer to the ground, she took a deep breath and activated her Semblance. There was a familiar tugging feeling in her gut as gravity started to pull her in a different direction, away from the ground. When she had slowed down enough, she set it back to normal and dropped safely to the forest floor.

Richard took out his spear and clutched it in both hands as he flew. When he was below the canopy, he jabbed the spear to the side, impaling a tree with the elongated point. His momentum made him swing in a circle around the shaft, bringing him to a stop. Bracing his feet against the trunk, he pulled out the spear, dropped to the ground, dusted himself off and leisurely strolled into the forest.

Sandy had been walking for about fifteen minutes when she heard howling coming from a short way away. She headed toward it and broke into a clearing, where a blonde boy dressed in blue was surrounded by a pack of Beowulves. She didn't see a weapon on him, but he was using Dust to throw shards of ice and lightning bolts to keep the Grimm at bay. Sandy drew her pistols and started firing, peppering the monsters with bullets. The boy fought harder upon seeing her, launching streams of fire that disintegrated several more. The lone Beowulf left jumped toward Sandy with its claws outstretched. She holstered her guns and drew her katana, cutting it down with a single upward slash.

The blonde boy put his hands on his knees and breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks a lot."

"Don't mention it." Sandy said. "I'm Sandy. What about you?"

"Marco." he answered. "Looks like we're stuck together for a while, huh?"

Sandy nodded. "Where's your weapon?"

"Oh, I don't have one. I'm pretty lousy at melee combat, so I just use Dust." Marco held up his hands; his fingers were lined with eight rings of different colors. "My Semblance lets me store a huge amount of Dust in metal, so I've been building up reserves in these rings for years."

"So you're basically a wizard." Sandy summed up as she reloaded her pistols.

Marco shrugged. "That's, uh, one way of looking at it. Oh, we'd better get moving. I think we're getting close to the structure. Over here!" He started heading deeper into the forest. Sandy sheathed her sword and followed him.

Richard broke through an underbrush. Standing in front of him amongst a bunch of trees was an enormous, muscular guy in brown armor with dark skin and a massive, single-edged battleaxe slung across his back. A pair of small, round, fuzzy ears poked out of his short black hair. "Heya." said Richard. "Name's Richard."

The Faunus turned toward him and nodded. "Theodore." He said. "Call me Teddy."

Richard nodded back. No further words needed spoken. They turned and started heading deeper into the forest.

"You think that's it?" Marco asked. He pointed to a sliver of gray between a cluster of tree trunks. Sandy stepped toward it and broke into a clearing. In the center was a round stone structure covered in moss with numerous pedestals lining the inside, each one holding a black or gold chess piece. She stepped forward and grabbed a black rook. "All right. Now we get back to the cliff, I suppose."

Just as she spoke, four others entered the clearing from other sides. One pair was Richard in his gray outfit, accompanied by a big, armor-clad bear Faunus. The other two were girls she didn't recognize, a blue-haired one with a matching coat a pair of straightswords and a blonde one with a halberd. "Ayy," Richard called when he saw Sandy, "there she is." The big guy and the blonde walked toward the ruin, each taking another chess piece.

"So how was your trip here?" Sandy asked.

"Surprisingly uneventful." Richard said. "A few Beowulves and an Ursine here and there, but nothing major."

A baleful howl split the woods as a full pack of Beowulves and several Ursine broke out of the woods. Richard slapped his forehead. "Anyone else?" he asked calmly. In answer, a giant snake slithered into the other side of the clearing, coiling up and hissing angrily. Richard gave it an exasperated look. "Hi."

"Richard, stop saying things!" Sandy yelled.

"There's nothing else coming!" Teddy called. "Who takes what?"

The blonde girl grabbed a chess piece. "We'll hold off the snake." She and the blue-haired girl drew their weapons and charged. Teddy hefted his axe and swung downward, cleaving an Ursine in half. "We'll get the rabble then."

Marco placed his hand on the ground, causing giant spikes of ice to erupt from the ground in front of him, impaling several Grimm. Sandy smashed one of the icicles with the hilt of her sword, and created a gust of wind that swept the shards into the Beowulves, knocking them back and shredding them. An Ursine managed the break through the storm and leapt at her, but she dodged out of the way and decapitated it.

Richard, however, was surprisingly impressive. He swept his spear in a wide arc, launching a wave of red light that detonated everything in his path. The Grimm hesitated and started to step back, at which point he leapt toward them and began cutting them down with thrusts of his spear or wide swings of the elongated point. The last Ursine started to step back toward the forest, but he dashed into it and stabbed upwards through its chin. There was a slight sizzling sound before he detonated the point of the spear, sending black chunks flying in all directions.

Meanwhile, the blue-haired girl was trapped in the snake's coils while the blonde one was blocking its strikes with her halberd. Teddy braced his legs against the ground and leaped across the field, bringing down his axe on the part of the snake that was holding the blue-haired girl captive. Although he didn't cut through the whole thing, its muscles spasmed enough for her to wrench herself free. She grabbed her swords and leaped onto the snake's neck, stabbing them both through the top of its head to finish it off.

As the monsters disintegrated all around the initiates, there was a collective sigh of relief as they all caught their breath. "All right," Richard spoke up, "good hustle, folks."

Marco leaned against a stone pillar. "I think I would have preferred a written exam."

The six of them took the trip back to the cliff together to avoid any more mishaps. When they got to it, Sandy simply used her Semblance to walk straight up the side of it, as opposed to the others who climbed the stairs built into it. Doctor Oobleck was waiting for them at the top. As they turned in the chess pieces to him, he entered information into his Scroll whilst giving out rapid-fire congratulations. "You've all exceeded expectations and come back alive." He said when the last one had been handed in. "I think this is good cause for celebration, don't you? Welcome to Beacon, everyone. We'll get you all registered, lunch is ready in the meantime. The ceremony will begin at precisely 6 o'clock tonight."

Later at the ceremony, Sandy met up with Richard and Marco to watch the proceedings. Ozpin stood on stage in the great hall, naming the new teams of four and their members one by one based on the chess pieces they had retrieved. "Edward Jade, Zinnia Flora, Artemis Luna, Rina Jade. The four of you picked up the white bishops. From this day forth, you will be known as Team AZRE (Azure), led by Artemis Luna." Four students stepped up to take their place on the stage. Sandy recognized the two girls who had fought alongside them in the forest. Suddenly her face appeared on the screens above the stage, along with Richard's, Teddy's and Marco's. "Marco Phosphor," Ozpin called, "Richard Astra, Sandy Eurus and Theodore Callisto. The four of you retrieved the black rooks. Henceforth, you will be known as Team STRM (Storm), led by Sandy Eurus."

The words hit Sandy like a truck. Her legs trembled as she stepped up onto the stage. The entire rest of the ceremony was a complete blur. A few more teams were announced, some more congratulations, and then the hall disbanded. The new team members tracked down their dorm and collapsed into their beds. Sandy took a moment to think about everything that had happened now that the adrenaline rush was over, and only then did she realize how tired she was. Thoughts of her future as a Huntress drifted by as she fell asleep almost immediately.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: A Grimm Start

The alarm clock's beeping rang out through the dorm, rousing the four newly christened team members. Teddy was the first to rise, his enormous weight causing his whole bed to creak and groan just by sitting up. Sandy and Marco got up after. Everyone get dressed in their new school uniforms and headed back into the center of the room.

Sandy stood with her black hair let down to her shoulders, her blue eyes wide awake. She had foregone the black leggings that came with the plaid skirt. Marco's blonde hair was neatly combed, without a single wrinkle on his suit. Teddy's XL suit struggled to contain his barrel chest, but it fit him surprisingly well for the most part. And Richard was… still asleep.

Sandy turned to Marco with a mischievous grin. "You can wake him up." Marco grinned and held up his hand, creating a chunk of ice in his palm, and snuck over to Richard's bad. Just as he got to the edge, he was met with a deep, calm growl of "Go ahead. See what happens." Marco stopped in his tracks, then decided it wasn't worth it and backed off.

Richard sat up groggily. "Welp. Morning, team." He yawned as he got dressed and joined the others in the center of the room.

"Alright everyone!" Sandy announced. "Now we kinda got thrown together pretty quickly during initiation, so I'm willing to wager we probably don't know each other very well. At this point I think some team leaders would hold icebreakers, get-to-know-you activities, 'Hi, I'm Sandy, I went to Sanctum,' yadda yadda, you get the idea. But screw that!" She crossed her arms. "We're stuck together for four years, so we'll probably know far more about each other than we'll want to admit by the end of this. So let's just get started with classes and kick this school's ass!"

There was a resounding silence across the room. "Sounds good." said Richard.

Marco took out a sheet of paper. "I've got our schedule. It's 9:30 now, we've got our first lecture together at 10:15 with Professor Port. What'll we do until then?"

"Well," Sandy said, "we could start by unpacking."

Marco took it upon himself to organize books neatly on the shelf by subject and alphabetical order while Richard hung posters and hooked up a small television. Teddy moved the beds around at the behest of Sandy, who, after placing her violin case against her bed, proceeded to walk around on the ceiling dusting cobwebs. Richard looked up at her and narrowed his eyes. "It's so weird seeing your hair and skirt go _up_ when you do that."

"Well, when I'm using my Semblance, _down_ for me is whichever way I want it to be." Sandy responded. "Speaking of which, what are all your Semblances? There's Marco's Dust storing, but what about you and Teddy?"

"My teachers described mine as ESP." Teddy answered. "When I activate it, I'm just innately aware of everything in the area around me, whether I can see it or not. That's how I knew there were no other Grimm coming when we fought at the ruins."

Sandy nodded and turned to Richard with an expectant look. He just shook his head and said "I don't really like to reveal the details of my Semblance. It's not very nice."

Sandy blinked and tilted her head to one side. "Okaaaayyy… Oh! It's 10:00, we'd better get going!" She dropped down from the ceiling and landed on the floor with a stylish flip.

As they were walking down the hall to lecture, they heard a commotion down another hallway. Turning the corner, they saw a large, muscular guy with brown hair tormenting a smaller brunette. The girl had a pair of long bunny ears sticking out from the top of her head, and the big guy was pulling on them and taunting her.

Richard and Teddy immediately stepped in. Richard placed his hand on the guy's shoulder and dropped his voice a full octave as he calmly said "Why don't you leave her alone for a while." Teddy emphasized this with a crack of his knuckles.

The big guy got a nervous look on his face that worsened when he saw Sandy and Marco coming in to back them up. He let go of the girl's ears and shook his head dismissively. "Fine. Whatever." He growled as he sauntered off.

The Faunus girl turned toward them and smiled cutely. "Thank you all _so_ much." She said with a strange accent.

"Don't mention it." Richard said, his voice back to normal.

As the team went back on their way to lecture, Marco spoke up. "It was really nice to see you all stand up for that girl. I know that Faunus are still getting the short end of the stick these days, so that definitely made my day a little."

Teddy nodded. "It's strange- I keep hearing about the way Faunus are treated, but I've never actually had anything explicit like that happen to me. But then again, most of what I've heard revolves around Schnee corp, which I really haven't interacted with much."

"Well, we're definitely improving." Said Marco. "My father, actually, is a Schnee factory manager. He's a great guy, treats his employees well if they're human or not. Sadly, I can't really say the same about some of the family 'friends'."

Sandy shook her head. "It literally doesn't make any sense to me. That one animal part that a Faunus has somehow immediately makes them less than human to some people. What difference does a tail make?"

The conversation was cut short when they arrived at the lecture hall. Standing at the front was an older man in a red suit, slightly overweight, with grey hair and thick well-groomed eyebrows that made it difficult to see his actual eyes. His most striking feature was immediately pointed out by Richard.

"That," he announced, "is a glorious moustache."

Professor Port let out a hearty laugh. "Thank you sir, I take great pride in it!" So tremendous was his facial hair that even when he spoke, his mouth was invisible, and all they could see to indicate that it was him talking was the twitching of the moustache.

The four of them took their seats as Port began the lecture talking about the various names for the creatures of Grimm. Not five minutes into speaking, he launched into a story of his personal escapades that Sandy guessed was slightly embellished, judging by the assertion that he was hailed as a hero for capturing a single Beowulf.

"The moral of the story?" He concluded, "A true huntsman must be strategic, honorable, dependable and wise. Now, who among you believes they have the capability to demonstrate?" He gestured to a large metal cage next to him that shook violently. Two red eyes were visibly glowing between the bars.

Nobody raised a hand. Port looked around the room with a slightly disappointed expression. "I see." He mused. "Very well, then, if we have no volunteers-"

"I'll do it." It was Marco who spoke.

Port invited him to the space between the podium and the seats that formed an open space like an arena. Marco stood at the opposite end from the cage.

"Ready?" Port asked. Marco nodded, and the professor brought down his axe and shattered the lock.

The cage burst open to reveal a snarling Boarbatusk, which pawed at the ground and affixed Marco with angry eyes. It immediately charged the boy, who simply stood and waited for it. Just before the monster reached him, a blue flash of light knocked it back.

The Boarbatusk stumbled to its feet, then shook its head and went at him again, this time curling up into a ball and rolling toward him. Marco placed his hand on the ground and formed a sheet of ice on the floor, causing the Boarbatusk to slip and slide out of control. Sidestepping the flailing creature, Marco shot a stream of fire from his hands that engulfed the creature, which let out a series of enraged squeals. Finally he finished it off with a bolt of lightning that struck the Grimm with a deafening BOOM.

The lecture hall filled with applause. "Excellent show, my boy!" Port congratulated. "I believe that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned reading!" He called as the students immediately packed their bags.

Marco walked back to his seat and graciously accepted the high-fives from his teammates. Teddy clapped his hand on Marco's shoulder, nearly knocking him over. "Some first class, huh?" Richard said with a grin.

Marco smiled back. "At least now we know we're in for an exciting year."


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Half-Blaked Ideas

As the four students were on the way to their next class, they had a serious discussion about the practicality of prosthetic robot limbs on non-amputees. "But where would you put it?" Sandy asked. "Just a third arm made of metal, like, sticking out of your shoulder? Wouldn't that get in the way a-" She stopped in her tracks and covered her mouth with her hand, letting out a small squeal of excitement. "Oh my God, it's Pyrrha!"

Marco looked forward. "Pyrrha Nikos? Huh, I didn't know she was enrolled here."

Richard looked confused. "Pyrrha who?"

Sandy turned to look at him with a shocked expression. "She won the Mistral Regional Tournament four times in a row! How could you not know her?"

Richard continued to look at her blankly. She groaned and pointed him in the direction of a girl in bronze armor organizing her locker. Her long crimson hair was tied in a ponytail, and a gold circlet adorned her forehead. Richard narrowed his eyes. "Isn't that the Marshmallow Flakes girl?"

"No!" Sandy cried indignantly. "Well- yes, but _no!_ "

"You certainly seem to look up to her." Teddy remarked.

Sandy laughed. "Honestly, if I were gay, it would be for her. I've wanted to be a Huntress since I was little, but she's a HUGE inspiration."

"Well, we've got sparring practice next." said Richard. "Maybe you'll get to fight her."

The sparring room was an indoor amphitheatre with a large screen above the arena in the center, presumably to track the aura levels of the combatants. Team STRM took front-row seats, waiting as the rest of the students filed in. Glynda stood in the arena, taking attendance on a large scroll. As the last of the students got seated, she brought up a spreadsheet. "Alright, everyone," she announced. "Let's begin sparring practice for today. For those of you whose first time this is, the first matches will be decided randomly, and later we can take volunteers. So, getting right into it, our first match will be…"

She pressed a button on the Scroll, and two wheels with each of the student's names on them appeared on the larger screen. They rolled for a few seconds before settling on two different names. "Blake Belladonna and Richard Astra." Glynda called. Richard stood up and grabbed his spear, while on the opposite side of the room a black-haired girl with a large black bow on her head got up. Her weapon was holstered in a rectangular scabbard slung across her back.

Richard and Blake's faces appeared on the large screen, each one with a gauge that represented their Aura levels. As they took places on opposite sides of the arena,their teammates cheered them on. Blake drew her weapon, a curved sword that folded up to fit in the scabbard, which it was connected to by a black ribbon. She held the sword in one hand and the scabbard in the other. Richard didn't seem very concerned. He twirled his spear nonchalantly and smiled. "How ya doin'?" He asked.

"I'm all right." Blake answered. She wasn't smiling.

Richard chuckled. "Good to hear." He took his spear in both hands and got into a fighting stance.

Glynda adjusted the room's lighting to put the focus on the combatants. "Begin." she prompted.

Blake made the first move. She rushed forward, knocking Richard's spear aside with her scabbard and slicing upward. Richard leaped back and stabbed forward, but the black-haired girl jumped up above him to avoid it. As she dropped down onto him, Richard pointed Boltstriker up to intercept her. The spear passed right through her and she vanished in a flash of purple light, reappearing at his side and striking him with her blade. The blow knocked him back, and as he regained his footing, Blake struck again. Richard barely blocked the attack with the shaft of his spear.

Sandy whispered to Marco. "Looks like she can make copies of herself or something."

Marco nodded. "The hit went straight through her."

Richard was now going on the offensive, keeping Blake on the ropes with quick slashes and thrusts. She dodged each of them with surprising agility, and one final stab went through her- another copy. Richard was ready for this one, and got into a low stance, sweeping his spear in a wide arc along the ground. Blake appeared just as the hit connected with her legs, knocking her off her feet. Richard followed up with a downward thrust, but she rolled out of the way.

As the battle continued, it was pretty clear Richard wasn't giving it his all, even though he landed multiple hits. Eventually, Blake struck him with one final blow to bring him down to 13% of his aura, while she was still at 35. Since Richard had fallen below 15%, Blake was declared the winner.

Richard got up off the ground with a smile on his face. He shook Blake's hand and chuckled. "Good fight. Nice work."

This time, she did smile. "Thanks, you too."

Glynda entered the information into a record for calculating the student's rankings. "Excellent work, you two." she commended. "But please, Mr. Astra, try to take your matches a bit more seriously in the future."

Richard waved as he and Blake walked back to his seat. "I'll keep that in mind."

As they took their seats, Blake's teammates congratulated her and patted her on the Back. Sandy put her hand on Richard's shoulder and smiled, but he didn't really seem to need it.

"Ok, let's get started on our next match." Glynda started up the roulette again. "It looks like we have… Zinnia Flora vs Pyrrha Nikos."

Across the room, a golden-haired girl dressed in yellow with a halberd stood and stepped into the arena with Pyrrha, who drew a sword and a bronze shield from her back. Sandy recognized her as one of the girls who had fought with them in the clearing during initiation, who got put into team AZRE.

"Begin." Glynda called.

The girls immediately rushed each other and began the fight. It very quickly became apparent that Zinnia did not stand a chance. Pyrrha dodged and blocked every single one of her strikes, retaliating with quick swings of her sword. Occasionally the sword extended into a spear for longer ranged strikes. At the end of the fight, Zinnia had been knocked down to 12% aura level, while Pyrrha was untouched. There was a lot of cheering among the students, mainly from Pyrrha's teammates and Sandy. The red-haired girl smiled nervously and shook Zinnia's hand, then they went back to their seats.

The remaining fights were nowhere near as impressive as Pyrrha's, and several minutes later, sparring was concluded. As the students left, they talked excitedly about the matches and lightly teased some of the losers, but it seemed nobody blamed Zinnia for losing so badly.

Team STRM was talking about Richard's fight with Blake. "I liked her. She was very… to-the-point." Richard said. "Also really pretty, but I'm biased. I have a thing for black-haired girls."

Sandy stuck her face next to his and smirked, letting her black ponytail fall around her shoulder. "Say again?"

Richard pulled away and laughed. "Yeah, I know. But my old teacher from Signal once said that in his experience, relationships between teammates rarely work out well. So blame him for me not worrying about you too much."

Sandy giggled and put her arm around Marco's shoulder. "Hey, I've got plenty of options left. What do you think, Marco?"

Marco's poker face was impenetrable as he spoke in a monotone voice. "I don't know how I feel about this."


End file.
